certainly no cheque attached

posted on April 22, 2009 at 9:04 pm

got my bio in the post yessadaywownice worki really enjoyed itrobert dean lurie has done a lovely jobhurrahand great reliefi read it all in one go yesterdayit was like a novel i couldnt put downthen thisthen that uh ohwatch out for nick…oooh..i mean niC…wardalso previously known as nigel murrayhe recounts the night he got kicked outcomplete with splendid tales of punching the”pommy bastard”and ” his bitch had jumped on my back”i threatened to “knock her out”“i lifted my knee into his guts…i was amused at this”

hes talking about marty n lucy willson-piper here…..later on he daydreams how hed like to thump everyone involved…how very strangeyou see poor olde fella still thinks violence is the answerhe says in the book i had a smart mouth but nothing to back it up with…ie i didnt like being constantly threatened by my own drummerie if you said hey nic(k) can you play like this….you didnt have to back it up with with yer fistspoor old nic(k) nigel nee murray-wardstill back in lyneham highpermanently locked into some 1950s aussie mans mans worldlike paul hogan having a really bad acid tripno one will ever wonder again why he was kicked outthey will, however, wonder why he was let in….but jesusit had me laughing out louda lot of the book didtheres some funny stuff in thereyou wont believe itof course i dont actually get royalties for it myselfso this is a free advertisementits been a long time coming down the lineand im very happy with itit is an aspect of my storyits fun to read….believe it or noti felt like i was reading about some other geezersome other geezer i dreampt up when i was still in the public servicea goodlooking young guitar strumming ladwith some goodlooking pals(some stunning pics of young pete n marty)an interesting up n down storyso randomso stupidso preordaineda life i was destined to leadand nic(k) ward was righta smart mouth that got me into trouble n ruined it for mewhy didnt i just shuttup and play? theres lotsa good bits about my nasty sidedave studdert gives a withering account of my time in “tactics”and gee whiz…i really was a turkey wasnt ivoice in another book : you were a real fool….the drugs….yepthe cover is really nicethe quality of the paper is a bit iffyits that glossy cheap stuff theres loadsa pics you probably never seen beforerob has understood the biography thing welland hes done a pretty good jobyou can imagine how i’d be railing against it if it was a stinkerhe even gives me the last wordand it seems a little harshtaken out of some context but not reallyon the printed page it just seems more…errr…concreteand finalcertainly the people who preordered so long agowill be very very happy with itits a lot better than some ive readalso remember that my life wasnt so exciting so its hard for my biography to be too wild…theres some sad stuffsome really hilarious stuffpeter koppes remarks kept me in stitchesoh godi’m glad the little redheaded bugger wrote this bookhe says many many kind things about my workhe understandshe grokks ithe wrote me an email recently saying he was loving u#23to me thats high praise indeedafter all thisi mean i consider him an expert on us nowhe deserves a masters degreeand i was pleased to be the object and subject in his thesisyeahmaybe the church’ll be selling it on church murchgo onbuy itread itimagine you had led that lifeoh god what a story a ha ha ha

36 Responses to “certainly no cheque attached”

AT LAST!!, a book to sink my eyes into PLUS never-seen-before pics of the dreamy-blue-eyed-bassman to sink my eyes into, yummmmmmmy 😀But does this book reveal the REAL Steven J Kilbey??????Can’t wait to get my little hands on it sk:)Have a beautiful day,love Amanda

no royalties??? hopefully if he is the fan you say he is then the cheques will flow out of moral obligation if nothing else – also – get it onto church merch on a consignment deal – you pay him for an agreed price after the sales are made – and recommend all who ask about it to buy it there

i’ll buy it when i know you’re getting something – he says indignantly

Yeah I made some sort of preorder donation so long ago that I barely remember, I’ve moved, changed email, burnt bridges and forgot it even existed so I will look forward to the read. I love biographies, the weirder and stupider the better. Fear and loathing in paisley.

I can't wait for it. Man, if anybody deserves to be honored in that way, it's you and the band, Steve. Congratulations to you and the fellas. Also to Rob, Congrats and THANKS for finishing!! 🙂 What an honor for him I say. Hey, congratulations to US as listeners and readers as well; We are privvy to some of the best Art on Earth, the music, the shows, records, etc. It's all excellent, all the differences in our lives, different times, etc. But there was always that constant, the band I knew would change my life and sort of…raise me in a way. I had a few other bands kind of up in that echelon too, but NONE was The Choich. Lets face it, though, none of us are here because we can't stand you, right?! I mean you guys are The CHURCH! Fuckin' eh! I dunno, I gotta good feeling about all of this…a great new record, a freakin' BIOGRAPHY!! I hope it continues to lead to what ever it is you guys need or want in this merry-go-round of life as a human on planet Earth. Know what I mean? I think that most people have a pretty interesting story to tell, but there are certain ones that are so truly inspiring and just…interesting! Yeah? I cannot wait to check out the new book. Sorry, but I am just really proud of you and the Church! Looking forward to the tour. Just got my tickies today too!! So… when's the MOVIE ("moviefilm") coming out?? 😉 Now THAT would be awesome! I would truly love to see a film/documentary, sort of "bioesque" on the band. The story of the Church is fascinating in its own right and realness. I've always known you guys were something special. For the record, I absolutely cringe when I hear ANYTHING to do with The Church and "one hit wonder" in the same phrase. I guess because it serves as a reminder as to how far removed "we" are from the "Main Stream". Whatever that means. On the other hand, it means people are interested even if it's on that superficial level. Who knows, there may be some "converts" still in the waiting ranks. So, screw all that. Just enjoy the ride, 'cos it's yours. We, yourself included, know how much grander and real you and the band are than all the Cookie-cutter bullshit. Thank GOD, man. Seriously, Thank you for hanging in there though all of this. It's probably safe to say that you and the band are the cosmically lucky ones that just happen to have "It". It just doesn't always happen like that, though. That's aprt of the fascination. That is one of the reasons why I am personally interested in reading the book. I have a feeling I'll be able to relate, even just a little bit. Kind of like a lot us us probably. I'm also waiting for the new U23 to arrive . I'm a little behind in my listing to the new stuff I guess. I only received Pangaea THIS evening as a matter of fact. (and the tickets too, and here you are talking about the new book. that's…cosmic?? ) Anyway, Steve, I don't mean to come off too mushy, but you know what I'm saying. I just wish you and the band the very best…Always. I'm glad you enjoyed the book and liked it as opposed to hating it! That would have sucked. Good on ya, SK! Cheers to you , the band and all of us other "fiends" out there.

Does anyone remember when it was actually fun coming to the comments section for real time banter with fellow kilbey-ites. As fun as the blog sometimes. I understand why the quasi-censorship Steve, but in a way barry or the wag or whoever it was won. We all suffer (although obviously in a very relative unimportant way) all things considered. Sort of like after 9-11 in USA, if everyone would have hidden away and avoided going out to dinner, movies etc. The terror tactic would have been successful. Just my two cents, miss the old days with Andy et al chiming in with clever real time bits feeding off of other comments which is not possible now but it is what it is. Some real laugh out loud witty shit. Ashame one bad apple able to spoil the whole bunch. Was it really that hard to simply ignore the wanker? The final blow to you Steve was a couple of off color comments made to Valeska. If you take the time to click on her link, and I have because I have plenty of time and I know it is very sad, anyway there is a close-up photo of her breasts which prompted the comments. You immediately started disabling comments stating “personal attacks” but it was a bit clever in context but the mood so tense unable to see. Anyway, let us interact on a limited basis like good boys and girls and who knows, maybe barry has moved on to some other source of misery. Used to be fun to check comments several times throughout the day, now no fun at all simply because there is no time for us to interact.

u#23…..‘elo ‘elo…what’s goin’ on ‘ere then?i thought WE(the dudes)were bonkers for putting out our latest!what a joy to find wer’e not alone……feinds….if you’ve not heard u#23 yet ignore comparisons to p-a ‘n fyand all that ‘coz the’re bogus.this is something else altogether…i’m not going to try and ‘review’ it here because i’m crap at that kind of thing and totally biased anyway!so…just a few observations.this album(which should have gone the whole hog and been a double cd)is the bravest, boldest statement the band have ever made.lush/stark/bieak…all at once, the least ‘comfortable’ work to date.‘magician’ is the hight of commerciality compared to this.themes…yes themes! for the first time steve lets down the mask and exposes his neurosies to our view and by christ it hurts….try ‘on angel street’…the anguish-ridden and cracked vocal, the downbeat and sparse backing, the achingly sad guitar outro(which fades all too soon)all meld together into a truly heart-rending experience.less oblique lyricaly, yet more dense musically than previous records.a LOT of tim on mellotron,a LOT of steve on guitar,a LOT of marty on bass,a LOT of peter.within it’s own framework,and,within it’s own terms,this is the most ‘progressive’ bandaround.this set of songs is about as far removed from bog-standard r ‘n r as you can get.in fact….it’s about as far removed from the average church offering as you could get!(not that church stuff is ‘average’ in the accepted sense of the word…)

iv’e used only one song as an example…as i say read the press elsewhare…i play guitar.

in summation….one soulful piece of plastic!

oh….do i like it?it’s such an intense ride it’s hard to decide…..ask me again when the the feelings of lonliness and isolation subside,and i’ll probably say something like:‘it makes me feel i belong.’

Loolabillions, the book is called "No Certainty Attached – Steve Kilbey & the Church" by Robert Lurie on Verse Chorus Press. Its out in Australia in May and USA in June. I think UK it might be May as well. You can pre-order it now on some online stores in Australia I see and hopefully Churchmerch.xxx

I’m in total concurrence with Andy. Untitled # 23 is so good it’s otherworldly. I played the CD 14 consecutive times. A sooothing and intoxicating time release audio narcotic. Painkiller and Untitled# 23 are on a par with Beside Yourself and Forget Yourself but all four CD’s are brilliant in their uniquely virtuosic ways.

I’m glad you’re ok with it SK. I’ll look forward to reading it now.Nicely put Ben. THE CHURCH. STEVE KILBEY. Nothing else comes close. I’ve had a great life (so far) and one of my biggest blessings has been your music, sk.Who could have imagined all those years ago we’d still be receiving your magic and, on top, this majestic TTB.I owe you so much Steve.Thank-you.

jonas 6:17….yeah it saddened me too….but y’know the obstinate olde bugger does listen…. i gave him some grief over the moderation,he relented…and straight away some git had a go about his dad!dunno ’bout you jonas….but yer dad?if steve ‘n i got one thing in common…..our dads were numero uno, kapishe?

Oh it sounds like a fun read! I remember chatting with Robert in Antenna several years ago when he was trying to locate Nick Ward — I guess he found him. I wonder if he has realised the only reason anyone wants to talk to him is because of you. Somehow I doubt it.

I preordered several copies of the book when that was first offered. I had planned on giving several as gifts. Now not only do I not remember how many I ordered, I can’t remember who I was going to give them to either!

i’m glad the little redheaded bugger wrote this booklol! That line should in any advertisement for it!